Malaysia Country Guide

Malaysia is a country
in Southeast Asia, located partly on a peninsula of the Asian mainland
and partly on the northern third of the island of Borneo. West
(Peninsular) Malaysia shares a border with Thailand, connected by a
causeway and a bridge to the island nation of Singapore and has
coastlines on the South China Sea and the Straits of Melaka. East
Malaysia (Borneo) shares borders with Brunei and Indonesia.

Malaysia in the region from (CIA) World Factbook

GeographyPeninsular Malaysia occupies
all of the Malay Peninsula between Thailand and Singapore and is also
known as West Malaysia or the slightly archaic Malaya. It is home to the
bulk of Malaysia's population and generally more economically developed. Within Peninsular
Malaysia, the West Coast is more developed and urbanised and separated
from the more rural East Coast by a mountain range - the Titiwangsa.

Some 800 km to the east is East Malaysia, occupying the northern third of the island of Borneo, shared with
Indonesia and tiny Brunei. Partly covered in impenetrable jungle where
headhunters once roamed, East Malaysia is rich in natural resources but very
much Malaysia's hinterland for industry and tourism.

Modern Kuala Lumpur

Developing NationMalaysia is a mix of
the modern world and a developing nation. With its investment in the
high technology industries and moderate oil wealth, it has become a rich
nation in Southeast Asia. Malaysia, for most visitors, presents a happy
mix: there is high-tech infrastructure and things generally work well
and more or less on schedule but prices remain more reasonable than
Singapore.

PeopleMalaysia is a multicultural society. While Malays make up a 54% majority, there are the Chinese accounting for 25% (especially visible in the cities), Indians (7.5%), various indigenous groups (12%) and the remaining comprising of a miscellaneous grouping of "others" such as the Portuguese descendants in Melaka. There is hence also a profusion of faiths and religions including Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Sikhism and even shamanism.